Himachal HC directs govt in Sher Singh Thakur bribary case

Hearing a petition filed by Sher Singh, former assistant drugs controller, who was caught accepting bribes by vigilance department seeking stay on departmental proceedings against him, the Himachal High Court observed that while the state government in it’s affidavit stated that it was committed to eradicating corruption and had a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, it was reinstating such officers who were caught accepting bribes.

The HC also directed the Chief Secretary to inform whether any of these officers has been given key postings and said that apart from factor like influencing investigations and tampering with evidence, an important factor while considering the reinstatement of officers was the image of public service and that of the government.

The petitioner argued in his petition that both criminal trial and the departmental proceedings could not run simultaneously.